World Cup 2018: Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard & Rio Ferdinand part of BBC team in Russia

Former England trio Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand will join the BBC’s Fifa World Cup 2018 coverage from Russia next month.

Germany’s 1990 World Cup winner Jurgen Klinsmann, Ivory Coast’s all-time leading scorer Didier Drogba and Pablo Zabaleta, who played for beaten finalists Argentina in 2014, will add an international perspective to the Match of the Day studio in Moscow.

The BBC will televise 33 live games, including England’s two opening Group G matches against Tunisia and Panama.

Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker leads the BBC coverage throughout the tournament, which starts on 14 June.

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Five other former England internationals – Phil Neville, Jermaine Jenas, Danny Murphy, Martin Keown and England women’s Alex Scott – will also be among the BBC pundits in Russia.

Shearer, Lampard and Ferdinand join Lineker in the Red Square studio for England’s first two matches.

Gareth Southgate’s side face Tunisia in their opening Group G game on 18 June, before fixtures against Panama on 24 June and Belgium on 28 June.

Gabby Logan will report from the England camp near St Petersburg, while Scott, England women’s second-most capped player, will appear on match coverage and across digital and social platforms.

The first glimpse of the BBC’s World Cup 2018 marketing campaign will air during half-time of Saturday’s FA Cup final on BBC One.

Television

Match of the Day favourites Kevin Kilbane and Mark Lawrenson can be heard on TV co-commentary duties alongside the experienced Guy Mowbray, Steve Wilson, Jonathan Pearce, Steve Bower, Simon Brotherton and Vicki Sparks, who becomes the first woman to commentate on a World Cup game for British TV.

The BBC will broadcast the first matches to involve star names Mohamed Salah, Luis Suarez, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta and Paul Pogba across the opening days of the tournament.

All BBC games are broadcast on BBC One, BBC Two or BBC Four.

Opening weekend highlights include current European champions Portugal meeting 2010 world champions Spain on 15 June, before holders Germany start the defence of their title against Mexico on 17 June.

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Radio

Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates will lead BBC Radio 5 live’s coverage from Russia, while Robbie Savage will host a daily World Cup breakfast show from 08:30 BST with a special guest each weekday of the tournament.

Fans can listen to all of 5 live’s coverage of the World Cup at bbc.co.uk/5live or via the BBC iPlayer Radio app.

Online

The UK’s biggest sports service, BBC Sport online, will stream all of the BBC’s World Cup matches on desktops, tablets, mobiles, Connected TVs and on BBC iPlayer. On-demand video clips, live text commentary and tactical analysis will also feature online.

Other online highlights include:

• World Cup 2018 Player Rater: The new Player Rater lets you rate all players out of 10. You can share your ratings with friends and see what the rest of the world thinks. Do you agree with the BBC pundits?

• World-class live coverage: BBC matches streamed live in HD with alternative commentary and camera options; live text coverage with instant in-game video highlights; and audio commentary from Radio 5 live.

• Watch every goal: Video highlights for every game and goal scored at World Cup 2018 available at the final whistle.

• Personalise your World Cup 2018: Tailor your World Cup 2018 digital experience to receive all the latest news results and video highlights from your favourite teams through the My Sport service bbc.co.uk/mysport – available online and mobile devices.

• World Cup Rewind: BBC Sport get viewers into the World Cup spirit by going back ‘live’ (full match video and text coverage) to 1990 when England beat Belgium in the knockout stages thanks to a famous volley; England’s opening game of 1998 against Tunisia – a fixture current England manager Gareth Southgate started in defence; and Germany’s demolition of hosts Brazil in the 2014 semi-final.

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Social media

BBC Sport’s social media channels will keep over 30 million fans in touch with breaking news, action and funnier moments from Russia.

Throughout the tournament, in-match updates and breaking news will be available on Twitter, highlights from every game on YouTube, daily World Cup stories available on Snapchat, a mixture of news and video action on Facebook, plus former England star and Arsenal player Alex Scott will host a series of Instagram stories ensuring audiences never miss a moment of what’s happening both on and off the pitch.

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Barbara Slater, director, BBC Sport, said: “The BBC prides itself on being the home of big sporting events and we are committed to delivering the best all-round coverage across TV, radio and digital of the World Cup 2018. This event deserves expert comment, analysis and insight and our unrivalled line-up of presenters, pundits and commentators are sure to engage viewers and listeners as excitement builds throughout the tournament.

“The opening set of fixtures on the BBC brings an impressive cast of world talent as we head towards England’s first game. History will be made at this summer’s World Cup and the BBC is there every step of the way to make sure audiences don’t miss a thing.”